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                          REC.GAMES.FRP.DND FAQ
                                 Part 3

                                TSR/WOTC
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
* designates topics which have been updated.
+ designated topics which have been added.

* C1: What is the history of the D&D game?
 C2: What did "TSR" stand for?
* C3: What does "T$R" stand for?
 C4: What is WotC's e-mail address?
 C5: What is WotC's snail-mail address?
 C6: What is WotC really working on in the way of TV shows and movies?
 C7: What's the deal with WotC's copyright policy?
 C8: Did TSR really try to trademark the word "Nazi"?
* C9: Didn't TSR just "borrow" everything from J.R.R. Tolkien's works?
 C10: How can I submit my latest work of literary genius to WotC?
* C11: Where's Gary Gygax these days?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

C1:  What is the history of the D&D game?

A:  E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson were tabletop wargamers; that is, they
   used lead miniatures to reconstruct historical battles or construct
   their own battles.  Their favorite era to set their battles in was the
   medieval period.
     Gygax, along with Jeff Perren, codified a set of rules for
   conducting both individual and group combat.  Then, along with Brian
   Blume, they published these rules through Guidon Games (which
   consisted of Gygax, et al. and was run out of Gygax's basement) in
   1969 under the name Chainmail.
     At some point, their battles received an injection of fantasy.
   Originally, the fantasy elements in Chainmail were limited to special
   military units for "wizards" and "heroes".  Eventually, however, the
   basic concept behind the existing idea of the play-by-mail military
   campaign, where each player took the part of a ruler who sent out
   armies as well as engaged in diplomacy & intrigue, was soon combined
   with the game.  Soon, the "wizard" and "hero" were removed from the
   battlefield and sent upon individual quests of mythic proportions, as
   Gygax and Arneson discovered that playing a single character was just
   as fun, if not more so, than playing an entire military unit or army.
     One of the first times this occurred was in 1970, when Dave Arneson
   (apparently before he knew about Gygax's fantasy supplement for
   Chainmail) created a scenario in which a group of adventurers had to
   sneak into a castle and open the gates from the inside, only to discover
   that many of the castle defenders were inhuman, fantastic monsters.  He
   brought his scenario to GenCon 4 (1971), and Gygax--who already had some
   individual adventuring guidelines of his own, mostly in the form of the
   brand-new fantasy supplement for Chainmail--was one of the people who
   played it.  Gygax and Arneson then pooled their efforts to create a game
   specifically intended for fantasy adventuring.
     From there, the concept of character advancement was added, via
   "experience points and levels of proficiency" in combat and spell use,
   as well as a few other refinements.  Thus individuals could grow in
   character and power, instead of just being anonymous members of battle
   units.
     This game was now far beyond wargaming, or even Chainmail.  The
   group called it "The Fantasy Game," and proceeded to take it around to
   all the game manufacturers, including Avalon Hill.  Every single
   company turned the game down, usually because it seemed too
   open-ended, without a way to "win".
     Not about to let mass rejection stop them, in 1973, Gygax and Don
   Kaye, later joined by Blume and Arneson, formed their own company,
   named Tactical Studies Rules (named after a local wargaming club, the
   Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association) to market their "fantasy
   wargame to be played with paper and pencil", which they renamed
   "Dungeons & Dragons" after a suggestion by Gary's wife, Mary.  The
   game first appeared at the 1973 EasterCon, had a limited availability
   throughout 1973, and the first print run of 1,000 copies was
   officially released in January of 1974.  It sold out within the year.
     The game consisted of three booklets: Men and Magic, Monsters and
   Treasure, and Wilderness & Dungeon Adventures.  It was also
   recommended that owners get a copy of Chainmail as well as the Avalon
   Hill game "Outdoor Survival."  There were three classes: Fighting Man,
   Magic User, and Cleric.  The terms were intentionally vague--much
   research was done to prevent putting anything into the game which
   actually resembled real-world "magic" systems.  They eventually
   decided to base the game's magic system on the fantasy writings of
   Jack Vance; thus magic users must memorize spells daily and once cast,
   the spells are erased from the magic user's mind and must be
   rememorized.  There were also four different races: human, dwarf,
   hobbit, and elf.  Subsequent complaints and legal threats from the
   Tolkien estate caused "hobbit" to be changed to "halfling" later on.
   Humans could be any class, and could attain any level of proficiency.
   Dwarves and hobbits were limited to being Fighting Men, and were
   restricted in the levels they could reach.  Elves could alternate
   between Fighting Man and Magic User, but could only switch classes at
   the beginning of an adventure.  Finally, there were three alignments,
   based on the fantasy writings of Michael Moorcock and Poul Anderson:
   Law, Neutrality, and Chaos.  The original intentions of the game
   equated "law" with "good" and "chaos" with "evil".
     At this point, both Gygax and Arneson were running their own
   campaigns using the game.  When the game started getting somewhat
   popular after the first year or so, they decided to publish some of
   the details of their campaigns, along with some expansion rules for
   the game.  This product was the original "Greyhawk".  It introduced
   the Thief character class, and had notes on magic, monsters, and more.
   Then they published "Blackmoor", which introduced the Monk and
   Assassin classes, and included the very first module: Temple of the
   Frog.  Then came "Eldritch Wizardry", which introduced the Druid
   class, as well as Psionics.  The last book of this series was "Gods,
   Demigods, and Heroes", which listed several pantheons for use with the
   game.  During this period, TSR also began publishing two magazines;
   The Strategic Review (note the creative acronym) in spring of 1975,
   and The Dragon (soon renamed to Dragon, and then to Dragon Magazine
   in the middle 1980's) in summer of 1976.
     In 1975, Arneson and Gygax split ways, and Don Kaye had a heart
   attack; Kaye's wife decided, along Gygax and Blume, to break up the
   company.  Gygax & Blume went on to create TSR Hobbies, Inc. later
   that year.
     At this point, there were a lot of rules, spread throughout books,
   supplements, and magazines.  In addition, Gygax had amassed a pile of
   campaign notes and new rules which he wished to add to the game.  So
   it was decided to create a new edition of the game.  However, instead
   of calling it a second edition and discontinuing the first, TSR
   produced the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set in 1977 as a simplified
   revision of the original rules (also called Basic Dungeons & Dragons
   or "the blue book"), and launched Advanced Dungeons & Dragons that
   same year with the release of the Monster Manual. The Monster Manual
   was followed in 1978 by Player's Handbook and in 1979 by the Dungeon
   Master's Guide.
     The original rules and Basic D&D left many rules up to the
   Dungeon Master, which meant gamers from different groups might use
   completely different rules for the same situation.  AD&D was
   originally intended to be a standardized system which included all
   of the new and updated rules in one location, and whenever feasible,
   included a rule for every possible situation, thus making it what
   they hoped would be the version of choice for tournaments, as
   everyone would then always follow the same set of rules.
     The "Advanced/Basic" idea was apparently done the way it was because
   of money.  When Arneson and Gygax had split ways in 1975, Arneson,
   under the terms of the original partnership, still held some royalty
   rights to the D&D game, and Gygax went ahead with the new edition
   without paying Arneson the additional royalties which possibly would
   be due him.  Arneson took TSR to court in 1979, and the matter was
   settled in 1981 when both parties signed a mutual agreement.
     Advanced Dungeons & Dragons skyrocketed in popularity.  So much so
   that TSR came out with sourcebook after sourcebook, and published most
   of the now-classic modules, set in the World of Greyhawk.
   The first issue of Polyhedron was published in 1981.  Then, in 1984,
   TSR released the Dragonlance Saga.  This was followed in 1986 by
   the first issue of Dungeon.  The very next year, Ed Greenwood's
   campaigns first saw light as the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.
     By the end of the 1980's, the game was enormous, with rules and
   campaign information spread out further than it had been when AD&D was
   first created.  After Lorraine Williams bought a majority share of the
   company, TSR (by this time, the word "Hobbies" had been dropped from
   the name) decided to once again create a new edition and roll a lot of
   the new rules into the core books, as well as revamp many of the
   existing core rules.  In this way, gamers would have all of the
   necessary rules in one place, and tournaments once again would not
   have to worry as much about gamers coming in with various backgrounds
   of house rules.  (And a company that was having some monetary problems
   would hopefully turn a tidy profit in the bargain.) Thus was AD&D, 2nd
   edition born in February 1989.
     However, just as it had previously, the game ballooned out with the
   release of various additional sourcebooks and several new campaign
   settings. Rather than create a third edition or try to reference rules
   spread throughout some twenty books, TSR revamped the look of the 2nd
   edition books in 1995 and came out with three sourcebooks designed to
   be "optional" changes to the system.  With these books full of optional
   rules, DMs could use rules written, playtested, and somewhat offically
   supported to more easily fix many perceived problems with the "core"
   system as found in the PH and DMG.  In so doing, TSR put off the need
   for a third edition of the game for several years.  (They also hoped
   that convincing gamers to buy the D&D core books again would bring
   sorely needed profits rolling in.)
     In 1997, after ceasing publication and considering the possibility
   of declaring bankruptcy, TSR was bought by Wizards of the Coast,
   best-known for the collectible card game Magic: the Gathering.
   Shortly thereafter, the design of a third edition, bits of which had
   been rumbling around TSR's offices since before the second edition had
   reached store shelves, was transformed from an informal project worked
   on by a handful of designers into an offical design project of premier
   importance, which was released in August of 2000.  Since "Basic" D&D
   hasn't been actively supported in almost a decade, the word "Advanced"
   had little meaning and was dropped from the game's name at that time.
     In late 1999, Wizards of the Coast was bought by Hasbro, the second-
   largest game & toy manufacturer in the United States (after Mattel).
   Hasbro is possibly best known for owning both Parker Brothers and
   Milton Bradley, and thus Monopoly, Risk, and Scrabble are all Hasbro
   properties. Hasbro also bought Avalon Hill in the mid-1990s, which
   makes the purchase of Wizards of the Coast--and thus TSR and Dungeons &
   Dragons--mildly ironic, given that Avalon Hill turned down Gary Gygax
   when he was originally looking for a publisher for his little "Fantasy
   Game."  Under the buyout agreement, Hasbro supposedly would take a
   hands-off position for the first year, and after that, maintenance of
   that position would depend on how well Wizards of the Coast is doing.
   How separate from Hasbro's management Wizards of the Coast will be
   allowed to stay remains to be seen.

C2:  What did "TSR" stand for?

A:  No, it didn't stand for "They Sue Regularly."  As outlined above, it
   originally stood for "Tactical Studies Rules."  When the company
   incorporated, it changed its official name to "TSR Hobbies, Inc.," and
   later to "TSR, Inc.," which wasn't short for anything--especially now
   that it has been completely absorbed into Wizards of the Coast and
   Wizards of the Coast, in turn, has been bought by Hasbro.  As of
   August 2000, the "TSR" logo and company name is no longer used on *D&D
   products.  (More than twenty-five years of habits die hard, however;
   with all the buyouts that occurred, some people took to using "TSR"
   to refer to "whatever company is currently publishing *D&D or has ever
   published *D&D.")

C3:  What does "T$R" stand for?

A:  For some, the dollar sign is a pretty good ASCII representation of
   TSR's dragon logo.  For others, it is a way of referring to TSR
   without using any of their trademarks. However, "T$R" is more commonly
   used by disgruntled gamers to refer to the Great Undescribable
   Bloodsucking Lawful Evil Force which possessed the *D&D game
   market and created oppressive policies, ever-more-expensive and ever-
   lower-quality products, had no care for the common gamer, and any
   other Truly Evil acts one can imagine which had the end result of
   alienating customers and making money.  TSR, on the other hand, was a
   company made up of a bunch of hard-working people who genuinely cared
   about the game and what happens to it, in it, and how people feel
   about it. They occasionally made mistakes, but generally did what
   they thought was the best job they could.
     Please note that the employees working on the D&D product lines
   generally don't take kindly to being referred to as employees of
   "T$R."  At best they will ignore any post that features this
   epithet, which  means that it is not an effective way to get the
   attention of the company being railed against; at worst, they will
   be very offended by it and tell you so in no uncertain terms before
   ignoring whatever point you were trying to make. (The same goes for
   "Wizards of the Cost" or "Wot[cent].")
     In most cases, it is an outlet for people who are otherwise fed up
   with what they feel to be lack of respect for customers and the game
   itself and need a way to thumb their nose at "T$R, the unfeeling,
   uncaring megacorporation". Those people who feel the need to resort to
   what is essentially petty namecalling rather than try to conduct
   rational discourse about their grievances should find the newsgroup
   alt.flame.tsr interesting reading; request that your newsadmin add it
   if your site doesn't already get it.

C4:  What is WotC's e-mail address?

A:  WotC, and TSR before it, have been active on the Internet for some
   time now.  Several WotC staffers and ex-staffers lurk on the 'net.
   A couple are even regular or semi-regular posters in rgfd,
   alt.fan.dragonlance, and on the various RPG-related mailing lists.
     Here is a list of some addresses with which one may reach WotC.

     Corporate Accounts:
     [email protected]      WotC's Customer Services Dept.
     [email protected]      Games rules division of WotC's Customer
                                 Services Dept.; any questions about
                                 game rules for TSR's games
     [email protected]       Direct line to Dragon magazine
     [email protected]         Direct line to Dungeon magazine
     [email protected]      Sage Advice submissions; he does not
                                 always send personal replies
     [email protected]        Main RPGA address
     [email protected]     WotC's Webmaster

     If you plan to send e-mail to WotC or WotC employees and would like
   to receive some sort of response, it's a good idea to refer to the
   company name long-associated with the D&D game as TSR, not T$R.  You
   may be disgruntled with the company, but that's not a reason to rub it
   in the employees' noses--especially since the company that publishes
   D&D no longer uses the name "TSR".

C5:  What is WotC's snail-mail address?

A:  To send regular mail to someone at WotC, address it to:

     <person's name>
     <optional: person's position>
     Wizards of the Coast
     PO Box 707
     Renton, WA 98057-0707

   Or, for those in Europe:

     Wizards of the Coast
     PB 34
     2300 Turnhout
     Belgium

C6:  What is WotC really working on in the way of TV shows and movies?

A:  Current Productions:
     WotC has licensed Fireworks Television, a subsidiary of CanWest
   Entertainment, to develop a live-action television series based on
   the Forgotten Realms game setting and novels.  No target start date
   has been announced.  Fireworks has been involved in developing and/or
   distributing such TV shows as _Mutant X_ (for Fox & Marvel Comics) and
   _Gene Rodenberry's Andromeda_, as well as feature films such as
   _Rat Race_.

   Dead Productions:
     MCA/Universal, TSR, and Ground Zero Productions were at one point
   working on a live action + computer animation TV show basically set
   in the Spelljammer campaign setting and entitled "Wildspace."  This
   project is dead.  Some of the footage from the pilot may have been
   included in the Sci-Fi Channel's "Masters of Fantasy" episode about
   TSR; if so, it was approximately the same production quality as TSR's
   videotape-based Dungeons & Dragons board game.
     The Dragonlance movie, which was being animated by Nelvana, is no
   more.  The deal between TSR and Nelvana fell through, and all work on
   the movie ceased.  For further information, read alt.fan.dragonlance
   or check out the alt.fan.dragonlance Dragonlance Movie Web page at
   <http://www.cinemagine-ltd.com/dlmovie/>.

C7:  What's the deal with WotC's copyright policy?

A:  The deal is that when TSR started to develop a real presence on the
   Internet, some of the things they found were scans of their books and
   artwork, many trademark violations, a number of additional copyright
   violations, and other such infringements of their intellectual
   property.
     In August 1994, TSR announced a very restrictive policy regarding
   the use of TSR-copyrighted information, as well as the use of TSR's
   trademarks.  This was followed by several years of fairly regular
   flamewars and general hard feelings all around on the subject.
     Almost exactly three years later, in September 1997, TSR
   radically changed this policy, giving a lot more free reign to
   the creation and distribution by gamers of *D&D material.  Now, as
   long as you don't make any money off of it, don't use TSR's graphics,
   don't misuse TSR's trademarks, don't quote a lot from TSR's books,
   and don't mislead anyone as to the "officialness" of a file or web
   page, you're basically in the clear.  The current policy can be
   found at <http://www.wizards.com/contactinfo/TSR_Online_Policy.html>.
     If you are interested in creating D&D adventures, sourcebooks, and
   the like, WotC has released much of the 3rd edition ruleset under an
   "open gaming license" (OGL), similar in concept to the GNU software
   license, so that you can create (and even sell) such products as long
   as you adhere to the terms of the license. More information on how
   "open" the OGL is as well as what parts of D&D are covered by the OGL
   can be found at the Open Gaming Foundation's website, at
   <http://www.opengamingfoundation.org>.
     For more information on the history of this touchy subject, see the
   World Wide Web site at <http://members.aol.com/jimvassila/cr.htm>
   which has some information on the topic.  Note that this resource
   has not been updated recently, but it does give a good background of
   the early days of the situation, as well as why some people still hold
   grudges against TSR.
     You may also want to check out the actual statutes in question,
   in which case a trip to the Library of Congress' Copyright
   information page at <http://www.loc.gov/copyright> is in order.
   For on-line texts of the U.S. copyright code and the Berne Convention,
   see the various pages at <http://www.law.cornell.edu/> or the links at
   <http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nsf/copyright.html>.  You may also find
   that the (unofficial) opinions of practicing IP lawyers in the
   misc.int-property newsgroup are a good resource, as well.

C8:  Did TSR really try to trademark the word "Nazi"?

A:  No, though that is a popular rumor, especially among people who are
   looking for any excuse to hate TSR.  This incident comes out of the
   Indiana Jones RPG.  The statement in question actually says
   "NAZI(TM)*; (TM) & (C) LFL 1984; *trademarks of Lucasfilm, Ltd. used
   under authorization."  In other words, TSR has never made any claim
   to a trademark on the word "Nazi," but Lucasfilm, Ltd. has made such
   a claim.
     However, before anyone decides to start railing on Lucasfilm,
   realize that the trademark in question is of the word and the
   associated artwork.  That is, there is no claim that the word
   "Nazi" by itself is a trademark, but there is apparently a trademark
   on the word when accompanied by the specific artwork that was seen with
   it in that module.
     In any case, if you must flame someone over this issue, please
   take it to rec.games.frp.misc, where discussion of the Indiana Jones
   RPG goes, or to rec.arts.movies.starwars.*, where most discussion of
   Lucasfilm goes.

C9:  Didn't TSR just "borrow" everything from J.R.R. Tolkien's works?

A:  No.  See the section on books below for a long list of books which
   influenced the creators of the game.  Medieval fantasy was a popular
   genre during the time when the creators of D&D were growing up.
   Tolkien's books are simply the most widely known of the core of fantasy
   books which directly influenced Gary Gygax and friends.  Indeed, the
   magic system was based on the fantasy works of Jack Vance, and the
   green, rubbery, regenerating trolls were taken from Poul Anderson's
   _Three Hearts and Three Lions_.  Before the third edition of D&D,
   halflings were based on Tolkien's Hobbits (they were actually called
   "Hobbits" until the Tolkien estate demanded that the practice stop),
   and while the elf varieties are similar to Tolkien's various elf races,
   the general description of elves is a jumble of several different
   influences.  These are but a few of the influences on D&D and the ideas
   from which D&D elements are derived; a perusal of the books listed as
   "the basis for D&D" in Section 7 will turn up many more.  So no, *D&D
   is not a direct outgrowth solely--or even primarily--of Tolkien's
   Middle Earth (which has its own roleplaying game).
     For a more complete (though not exhaustive) list of literary
   elements that were "borrowed" by D&D's writers, see the "Literary
   Sources of D&D" document at <http://www.geocities.com/rgfdfaq/
   sources.html>.

C10:  How can I submit my latest work of literary genius to WotC?

A:  Information on submissions is available via WotC's web page
   at <http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=company/jobs/faq#other1>.
   Detailed writer's guidelines for Dragon magazine and Dungeon magazine
   are available at <http://www.paizo.com/writersguidelines/dragon.html>
   and <http://www.paizo.com/writersguidelines/
   dungeon_writer_guidelines.pdf>, respectively.

   1)  Do not, I repeat, do not e-mail a complete product either to any
       WotC or Paizo staffers, or to a WotC "official" e-mail account.
       They cannot look at it at all, as they might end up in hot water
       if WotC or Paizo happened to be already working on a similar
       product or article.

   2)  Do not e-mail a "complete proposal", for the same reasons as #1.

   3)  Do send a "query letter"; ethically and legally, any WotC staffers
       reading your message can then actually follow up on and look into
       your query.  This makes life that much easier for all involved,
       and makes you seem that much more professional.

   A query letter spells out an idea for a project in very vague terms,
   whereas a complete proposal gets into the nitty-gritty to some extent,
   and a complete product is the finished work.

   Here is an example of a query letter (Thanks to Bryan Maloney for the
   letter):

     TO: Bigshot Avalon Hill Gaming Guys
     From:  The EGG of Coot

     Dear sirs:

     I have been working on a variant upon the classic model of the
     wargame that I believe to be both innovative and entertaining.  It
     concentrates upon the play of individuals and their day-to-day
     conflicts in a heroic or mythic setting.  The working title of this
     game is "Dungeons and Dragons".

     I believe that this product will fit well into an untapped market
     niche, specifically that of the "fantasy" or "science-fiction"
     literature fan, who may not be interested in strict military
     simulation but might be willing to purchase a product that permitted
     them to enact and create their own "adventures" similar to those in
     "fantasy" literature, a la J.R.R. Tolkien.

     The sales of this sort of literature have been on the upswing in
     recent years, and I think that my product would be able to
     capitalize upon this potential market.

     In addition, since it addresses the concept of conflict-gaming from
     an original angle, it may open up an entirely new marketing niche
     altogether.

     I hope to hear from you soon.

     Thank you for your time,
     The EGG of Coot.

     EGG of Coot
     0000 Coot St., Apt. 0
     Cootvile, WI, 00000

   The appropriate response would be, if Avalon Hill has any brains, to
   send out a release form and a response letter saying that they'd be
   interested in taking a look.  However, it is also likely that the
   company decides that that is not a direction they wish to go at this
   time and send you a refusal letter, at which point you take your
   material to another company.

   When submitting anything to TSR, the following rules apply:

     1) Dragon & Dungeon will likely accept query letters via e-mail,
     but any further correspondence must be via snail-mail.  They will
     also accept query letters via snail-mail.

     2) TSR does *not* accept unsolicited query letters for game
     products; such letters should be sent to Dragon or Dungeon.

     3) TSR will accept query letters for fiction, but only via snail-
     mail (Attn: Book Dept.).

     4) With any snail-mail correspondence, people must enclose a
     legal-size self-addressed, stamped envelope if they want any sort
     of response.

   The description of the rest of the submission process is taken, in a
   slightly edited form, from a very informative post by Bryan
   Maloney ([email protected]):

   Okay, so you get the release form.  Look it over--the first thing you
   should note is that it claims what you do is "work for hire".  That
   is, even if you originated the idea and wrote it all yourself, TSR
   will get the copyright upon paying you.  Don't wail and moan, you
   aren't important enough to demand copyright.  However, if TSR tries to
   claim any further legal rights upon your work in addition to that
   single product, this is excessive.  Cross out any such lines and
   initial them.  No corporation has the right to demand that you sign
   away rights to works you have not yet presented to them unless you are
   a regular employee and have signed an intellectual property agreement.

   TSR does have the right to insist that the specific product you are
   proposing is "work for hire".  Wait until you've written an Origins
   Award-winning game and/or gotten the Hugo or Nebula in SF/Fantasy
   before you start to demand copyright.

   Now, don't worry about how much they'll pay you, it won't be crap,
   believe me.  You're not important enough to pay well, and the game
   industry is the worst possible market of any fiction market.  You're
   taking a shot at publicity, the money is just gravy.

   Okay, so you've got the release forms.  You'll notice that they ask
   for a "brief description" and give you a little space.  Type "see
   enclosed proposal" on that space.  Write a real "complete proposal".
   What is that?  A complete outline (with estimated page counts) and two
   chapters.  If you can't do an outline and two chapters, you're not
   ready to write.  Also, include a proposed schedule for you to be able
   to complete the product upon TSR's acceptance of your proposal.  Be
   realistic, not "impressive".  Deadlines that are made are better than
   early deadlines that are missed.  If you're feeling daring, try some
   sample ad copy or back-cover copy for the proposed product.  This is a
   great way to show that you understand the target audience.

   Mail the forms, typed, signed and dated, with your proposal.  Check
   the proposal for spelling errors and grammatical errors.  TSR gets so
   many proposals that they can afford to chuck most of them.  Have the
   proposal typed or laser-printed.  Don't use a daisy wheel.  Rule of
   thumb: It should be able to go through a fifth-generation Xerox copy
   and still be legible.

   Now, why send a proposal and not the whole shebang?  Two reasons:

   1)  If you can do a credible proposal, you have shown that you have a
   little organizational skill.

   2)  A proposal is less work than a complete product, and TSR can then
   evaluate your work with less effort from you.  If they think it's
   crap, it won't matter if it's from a proposal or the whole thing,
   likewise if they like it.

   If TSR turns you down, don't cry about it--they're allowed to turn you
   down.  Every great author's dream house was built upon a foundation of
   rejection slips.

   If TSR turns you down and you see "your idea" three months later, they
   didn't steal it.  There is no way that anything can go from proposal
   to publication in only three months.  Believe me, I have encountered
   so many ideas that I had, jotted down, told nobody about, and
   found on the shelves a few months later.  You are not a genius,
   nothing you think of is unique--somebody else will think of it, too.
   If you were a genius, you wouldn't need to read this.

   If TSR accepts your proposal, get it to them under deadline.  With
   this "draft final", include a letter letting them know that you would
   be happy to help with any editorial or revisions they would like to
   do.  Don't expect them to go for it.  The majority of amateur game
   designers are prima donnas who get all huffy if their sacred words are
   meddled with.  TSR knows this, and is leery of giving amateurs too
   much authority.  Also, like most game companies, TSR has a production
   schedule that would make any other publishing company fire its
   production managers and hire somebody with a grip on reality.
   Editorial is not the evil part of TSR, the guys who set the production
   schedule are the evil ones.

   So, get your final draft in under deadline, and don't complain when
   TSR changes it without consulting you.  I'd wager that they don't even
   have their production/editing apparatus completely networked, yet.
   Once that happens, designers might get more input, but I doubt it.

   So, when do you get paid?  You don't for a while.  You'll probably get
   paid after TSR gets into the black on your product, so you'd better
   make it very good.

C11:  Where's Gary Gygax these days?

A:  Mr. Gygax and TSR parted ways in 1986. Gary went on to create the
   Cyborg Commando game for New Infinities, which never really caught
   on, and the Dangerous Journeys game for GDW, which started to catch
   on, then ended up in court; as a result of an out-of-court agreement,
   Dangerous Journeys became owned by TSR, who promptly shelved it.  Gary
   also wrote two books on how to role-play, titled _Role-Playing Mastery_
   and _Master of the Game_.  He is now rumored to be living in the
   Oregon back country with the Sasquatch and Elvis.  Actually, he still
   lives, works, and games in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; he's even been known
   to pop up in various places on the internet.  He is also active in
   writing new RPG material for various companies and game systems.

***End Part 3***


--
Aardy R. DeVarque
Feudalism: Serf & Turf
Rec.games.frp.dnd FAQ: http://users.rcn.com/aardy/faq/rgfdfaq.html

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